Written by: Joe Jore, U of M Senior
This summer, I had the privilege of working at Farmers Coop Elevator in Rushford, Minnesota. Farmers Coop is member owned and has been serving southeast Minnesota for over 100 years. I worked in the agronomy department as a Crop Scout Intern and learned many different things during this three month position. During the first month, I did a lot of scouting fields for stand counts, early season damage, and emerging weeds. My fellow interns and I used iPads to keep track of information that was found in the field. In the later parts of the summer, I learned how the fertilizer handling operations worked and how to apply pesticides on fields using a John Deere sprayer. My experience was well rounded, considering the interns were included in almost every aspect of the agronomy department responsibilities. One of my most notable learning opportunities came before the internship even started. While I was attending college in the spring, I was told that I would need to obtain my license to apply pesticides on fields. I had to manage my time with school in order to learn the ins and outs of pesticide safety and equipment, and I was able to pass the exam before the end of the semester. It was rewarding to work hard and be able to use my license at the coop over the summer! Another learning opportunity came from scouting the fields in my area. I became familiar with many different weeds and diseases that were prevalent this year such as giant ragweed, velvetleaf, lambsquarters (weed), and white mold (disease). Along with application and scouting, the interns were given other responsibilities at the coop. We counted products each month to keep track of inventory, took corn and soybean tissue samples that would give producers an idea of nutrient deficiencies in their fields, and we even worked for the grain department for a couple of weeks cleaning out bins and hauling grain to the proper site. Along with those things, I also learned how to operate the fertilizer tender trucks that take fertilizer out to pull type and self-propelled spreaders. This summer was an experience that was not only educational, but fun!
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January 2020
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